


someone ought to corrupt you on the dance floor

by blackglass



Series: Emon University [1]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Background Kash/Keyleth, Background Vax/Gilmore, Clubbing, Everyone in Vox Machina is multiracial, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Grinding, Like suuuuuuuuper explicit you guys, Palest white boy to ever be a pale white boy, Porn with Feelings, Racebending, That's the only way I know how to do, except percy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-15
Updated: 2017-02-15
Packaged: 2018-09-24 16:32:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 15,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9770510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackglass/pseuds/blackglass
Summary: It's Senior Week and the twins' birthday and Vox Machina is headed to the club to celebrate. With only a week left until they all graduate and go their separate ways, Vex decides she's done with wondering "what if?"Percy is not prepared for what's about to hit him.(aka "the story that was supposed to be a 2-3k PWP but somehow spawned an entire universe, picked up feelings along the way, and my own goddamn characters slowburned me in my own smutfic.")





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> If you want mood music, I wrote the club scenes with this playlist in the background.

The sound of clicking heels coming from behind him and a sing-song “ _Percy~_ ” is about all the warning Percy gets before a weight lands on his back. It’s just enough time to allow him to brace and he only staggers a little before steadying both himself and the willowy redhead clinging to his shoulders.

“Hello, Keyleth,” he sighs, half-exasperated, half-fond.

“Hi!” She giggles before sliding back down to the ground, looping her arm through his and pressing against his side as they continue walking towards Salda Tal’Dorei Hall. “Can you believe how quiet campus is now?”

Percy hums vaguely in agreement. With the last of the underclassmen moved off-campus just this afternoon, Senior Week has officially commenced.

Keyleth sighs mournfully and rests her head on Percy’s shoulder. “I can’t believe we only have a few days left before we all graduate and go our separate ways.”

Percy untangles their arms so that he can wrap his arm around her shoulders, kissing her temple as he pulls her in close. “I know, dear,” he murmurs, giving her a squeeze. “But we’ve still got time left to enjoy each other’s company. Don’t get all maudlin just yet.”

Keyleth gives him a wobbly smile in response. He hipchecks her gently to tease her out of her melancholy.

“You look nice tonight,” he offers, trying to lighten the mood.

Her smile this time is a little more genuine as she thanks him, twitching the hem of the pretty green dress she’s wearing.

He keeps the conversation light and inconsequential, asking about her finals and bitching about his own final project as they approach their destination. They manage to squeeze into the building behind a resident who was entering just ahead of them and make their way to the 3rd floor apartment where the twins, Grog, and Pike live.

A muffled “Door’s unlocked!” greets them when they knock and when they enter the suite, they see Scanlan sprawled on one of the couches, idly picking out a tune on Pike’s ukulele. He’s dressed in his customary purple, the top few buttons of his shirt left undone to reveal just a smidge too much chest as is his wont. 

“Oi Percy, Kiki,” he drawls. “This may shock you, but no one is ready yet. Grog literally just got in from the gym like, 5 minutes ago.”

“Frankly, I’m astonished that you of all people managed to be on-time, let alone early,” Percy replies archly, as he and Keyleth doff their shoes, tucking them neatly on the rack in the entryway; years of friendship with the twins means that the ritual is automatic at this point, though if someone ever forgot or was unaware, it was hard to miss the pointed sign on the wall reminding visitors that they were entering an Asian household and to “ _remove your shoes, you heathens_ ”. 

Scanlan shrugs, acknowledging the barb; his chronic lateness is a running joke. “Running on Filipino time,” he calls it. “I got here about 10 minutes ago. Pike told me we were pre-gaming at 9:30.”

Percy sneaks a look at the clock on the wall, which reads 10:20. That sounds about right.

“Oh good, you’re early,” says Vax, coming out of his room. To Percy’s complete lack of surprise, he’s dressed completely in tight clinging black. Percy’s pretty sure the pants are leather. Which, typical.

“Happy Birthday!!” Keyleth squeals, fairly bouncing over to throw her arms around Vax in an enthusiastic hug.

Vax laughs and squeezes her back, rocking them from side to side. “Thanks, Kiki. Want a drink while we wait for the rest of these slowpokes to _hurry the fuck up_?” He cranes his head to yell the last few words down the hall to where the rest of the bedrooms are.

“I’m ready!” comes Pike’s voice. “I’m just helping the birthday girl!”

“Fuck you!” That’s Vex. “We’re not late yet and the party can’t start without me anyway!”

Vax rolls his eyes and heads over to the kitchen. “So, drinks?”

Keyleth shakes her head. “I’m going to go help Vex too. Maybe between all 3 of us we can get out of here on time.” She disappears down the hall.

“I’ll take a Jack and coke,” says Percy, because that’s easiest.

“Sure thing, Whitey.” Vax’s nicknames for everyone are appalling, if apt. Still, time and years of friendship (despite some rocky periods) means that the sobriquet has taken on an air of easy affection. Percy remembers a time when it had been edged with barbed wariness, as Vax deliberated as to whether or not Percy was just another privileged white prick. To be fair, Percy had been, a little bit; he likes to think he’s gotten better, and he’s long since accepted his role as the Token White Friend in their circle of friends.

“Me too,” Scanlan puts in, still strumming away lazily.

The door to the bathroom swings open and Grog strolls out, still slightly dripping and clad only in a towel that looks ridiculously undersized when wrapped around Grog’s hulking form. Vax whistles and leers playfully at all the brown skin and tattoos on display, as Scanlan starts a rousing rendition of “I’m Sexy and I Know It” on the ukulele.

“I’ve laid out your outfit for tonight on your bed,” Vax calls to Grog, as he heads towards his room.

Grog pauses to glare over his shoulder at Vax, offended. “I can dress myself!”

Vax points an accusing finger at him. “You are _not_ showing up to Gilmore’s looking like a schlub on my birthday!”

Percy thinks this is fair. Left to his own devices, Grog dresses like he’s still in Hawaii, even in the dead of the New England winter.

Grog still looks suspicious. Vax sighs and says, “Pike approved it. Does that make you feel better?”

“I did!” Pike’s voice drifts down the hall again. “You’ll look great, Grog, I promise!”

At this, Grog looks mollified and steps into his room to get dressed without further complaint.

“One crisis averted,” Vax mutters, and hands Percy his drink. On the counter, Vax’s phone starts to vibrate. He picks it up, peering at the caller ID, and then beams when he recognizes who’s calling. “It’s Tiberius!” he says, accepting the Facetime call.

“Greetings and salutations!” comes the familiar greeting as Tiberius’ face fills the screen. “And Happy Birthday!”

“Tibs!” Vax exclaims. “How’s Atlanta?”

Tiberius had only attended Emon University with them for the first 2 years, in a move that had apparently caused much controversy in his family. His father had only begrudgingly allowed his son to attend EU because Tiberius had had his heart set on studying under Professor Allura Vysoren. When she announced she was taking an indefinite sabbatical at the end of their sophomore year, Tiberius bowed to familial pressure and transferred to Morehouse College, where the men in his family had studied for generations. Percy misses him dearly--Tiberius had been the only other person aside from Keyleth who had understood what it was like to struggle to make your own path under the weight of your family’s legacy and expectations.

The next few minutes are spent passing the phone around and catching up. Percy grins to hear Tiberius’ familiar bumbling, long-winded speech. Keyleth comes rushing down the hall when she hears Tiberius is on the phone, followed by Pike, who detours to give Percy a quick hug. Pike, unlike Grog, has learned how to dress appropriately for mainland weather. She’s got a single blue flower pinned charmingly in her pale blonde hair to complement her floral top and jeans. Scanlan, meanwhile, starts to serenade her with “Jowenna” while she rolls her eyes fondly. Grog puts in an appearance soon after, dressed in a grey-striped button-down and dark wash jeans, voice booming as he greets Tiberius. 

In the midst of all this cheerful chaos, Vex’ahlia finally emerges from the hallway and Percy nearly chokes on his drink. He’s accepted that his pitiful crush means that he thinks Vex is beautiful even when she’s in day-old sweats, a messy bun, no make-up and on hour 29 of no sleep, but tonight she’s… _breathtaking_. Her long, thick black hair has been carefully curled and left down, her eyes dramatically framed in expertly applied make-up. Her dress is gold and sparkly and hugs her body like a second skin, hitting mid-thigh so as to best display her legs (which are fucking _fantastic_ ).

Percy briefly labors under the illusion that aside from the length, the dress is actually quite modest--it’s got fairly long sleeves and the neckline cuts across just under her collarbones...that is until he gets a look at the back of the dress.

Or rather, the complete absence of the back of the dress.

This time Percy chokes on nothing but air.

He can only be thankful for all the chaos going on at the moment because it means everyone is too distracted to notice Percy’s completely undignified reaction. He tries not to let his eyes wander to all that unblemished golden-brown skin, tries not to linger on the elegant curve of her spine, tries not to dwell on the idea that Vex is almost _certainly_ not wearing a bra right now.

He tries not to think about the fact that this may be the last time he ever sees her like this.

_Get it together, de Rolo,_ he admonishes himself, staring furiously into his drink. _Mind out of the gutter. Soppy, maudlin thoughts absolutely not allowed._

“You look nice tonight.” Percy startles at Vex’s seemingly sudden appearance at his side. Her clever dark eyes crinkle in amusement and she looks pointedly at his shirt. “I love the color.”

The memory of her telling him that she liked how this shirt brought out his eyes the last time he’d worn it had, in fact, drifted across his mind when he was going through his closet to get dressed for tonight. “Oh,” he says after a brief pause, scratching at his cheek. “Thank you. You also...look nice. Very...sparkly,” he finishes lamely with an awkward hand gesture that’s supposed to...emphasize her sparkliness? Oh god, he’s terrible at this. _The worst_.

Vex’s eyes crinkle even deeper when she smiles, her cheeks dimpling. _God_ , the dimples. Percy somehow manages not to sigh like a lovesick idiot. She pops up on her tiptoes, leans in, and kisses his cheek. As usual, his heart does an entire gymnastics floor routine in his chest. As usual, he tries not to read too much into it.

She opens her mouth to say something, but whatever she’s going to say is cut off when Vax pronounces that it’s “time to take some motherfucking shots!” Percy gratefully takes the opportunity to chug down the rest of his Jack and coke before Vax starts pouring out the vodka. They take two rounds of shots, toasting to the twins for the first round and to the end of their senior year with the second, before they finally call two Lyft rides to take them to Gilmore’s club. And because God hates him, Vax claims shotgun and Percy spends the ride there with Vex pressed up against him in the backseat, all beautiful and distracting and warm. Percy bears it with grim determination, resolutely thinking very pure thoughts. 

The benefit of being friends with someone who has (shall we say) an _in_ with the club owner, means that they get to skip the very long lines outside of _G3_. Percy has never been so grateful to see that distinctive neon purple unicorn sign. Cordell is working the entrance tonight and waves them through with a grin and a wink. As Gilmore’s guests of honor, they are immediately shown to the VIP section upstairs, past the brightly lit bar overlooking the dance floor, where the Glorious Gilmore himself awaits them. Clad in his usual purple and gold, his facial hair immaculately groomed, and his make-up fabulously and artfully applied, he greets them with a blinding grin, arms thrown wide open.

“My friends!” he booms.

“GILMORE!” they shout back in an enthusiastic chorus. As is his way, Gilmore greets them all individually, with jokes and extravagant compliments and back-slapping hugs for the men and air kisses for the women. Vax, of course, receives a warmer, more...not necessarily more _sincere_ greeting, per se, but something quieter, something somehow more intimate and disarming despite the fact that Gilmore does nothing more than press Vax’s hands with both of his after they’ve embraced. It’s something to do with the look in Gilmore’s eyes, Percy thinks. Vax, of course, just looks back at Gilmore as though he hung the moon and stars.

With pleasantries and birthday well-wishes observed and exchanged, Gilmore invites them to lounge on the plush purple couches with him and orders a round of drinks on the house. Gilmore in full entertainment mode is a charismatic force of nature and it’s hard not to get swept up in the jovial atmosphere, not when there’s good alcohol, good music, good conversation, and good friends to be had.

Soon enough though, Gilmore’s other responsibilities call him away. Vax invites himself to go along with Gilmore and with his departure, the rest of their group also ends up scattering. Scanlan finds out that DJ Dranzel is spinning tonight and presumably scampers off to wheedle his way into the booth with him. Vex, Pike, and Grog make a beeline for the dance floor and Keyleth drags Percy to the bar with her.

Shayne is one of the bartenders tonight and she grins over at them while she fixes a drink for another patron. “I’ve been told by the bossman that your drinks are discounted tonight. So what can I do you for?”

“Shots or drinks?” Keyleth asks Percy.

“Drinks,” he replies firmly. “Shots can wait until we’ve gathered everyone else.”

“It’s more fun that way,” Keyleth agrees and orders herself a beer. Contrary to what most people would expect from looking at her, Keyleth isn’t a fruity cocktail kind of girl. If it’s not beer, she prefers wine.

Percy orders himself one of the more expensive whiskeys on the shelf, neat. “Her drink’s on me. And if anyone else in our group orders anything, just put it on my tab,” he says to Shayne, handing over his card. She winks at him and goes to pour his drink.

“Percy, you don’t have to do that!” Keyleth gasps. Percy waves her off and she smacks him on the arm in retaliation, but doesn’t argue further. She does insist on taking a selfie with him though.

They commandeer a table overlooking the dance floor and nurse their drinks in companionable silence, while Keyleth texts someone on her phone. Percy looks out over the mass of bodies writhing on the dance floor and picks out Grog easily enough. Grog is no great dancer--he mostly just shuffles back and forth and fistpumps wildly--but then, that’s not what he’s there for. Percy can just pick out the top of Pike’s blonde head bobbing next to Grog, but the majority of his attention has narrowed in on Vex.

Vex _loves_ to dance and she’s bloody good at it. She moves like her bones are liquid, eyes half-closed, riding the rhythm like her body and the music are one. The swing of her hair and the sway of her hips is hypnotic and it’s drawing more than just Percy’s eyes. Percy sees some dudebro with too much product in his hair shouldering his way through the crowd towards Vex, eyes and smirk predatory. Just as he’s approaching, however, he has to duck when Grog’s wayward fistpump nearly takes him out “accidentally.” Before he can recover fully, Grog has managed to maneuver his bulk neatly between him and Vex. Douchebro tries and fails to get around Grog’s flailing mass, then appears to re-think his life choices when he sizes Grog up properly and elects to move on to easier prey. Vex smiles brilliantly at Grog, smoothly spinning to slot her back to his front and guiding him into a grind. Vex throws her head back, laughing, and puts her hands on Pike’s waist when Pike takes advantage of the opportunity to grind up against her front.

Percy has to look away.

He hears a muffled giggle next to him and turns his head to see Keyleth grinning down at her phone. “Talking to Kash?” he asks, nudging her teasingly, grateful for the distraction from his ridiculous pining.

She looks bashful, but nods, and even in the low light of the club he can tell she’s blushing a little. Still, she can’t stop smiling. “He says ‘hi,’ by the way.”

“Pass along my regards as well. When’s he getting here again?”

Keyleth lights up. “He’s flying out Wednesday! And my dad and the tribe elders are coming in Thursday night. I still can’t believe they managed to get such a good deal on the plane tickets and the hotel! I was so sure it was only going to be my dad. I mean, I would have understood if it was too expensive for them to fly out, but--”

Percy makes encouraging sounds and lets her ramble on excitedly about her plans to take Kash, her dad, and the elders around town and the sights they’re going to see! and the restaurants she’s going to take them to!, and makes a mental note to thank Vesper for coming through on the flight and hotel package.

“--and then on Saturday after graduation we’ll...we’re going to...to…” Keyleth trails off and her chin wobbles a bit, eyes bright.

Percy puts his drink down and rubs her back soothingly. “Don’t think about it yet, dear. Remember what I told you?”

She sniffles and takes a fortifying sip of her beer, then gives a determined little nod. “Right. You’re right. I’m just going to--to enjoy myself tonight and be happy for my friends and--and get really drunk!” She takes another pull of beer almost defiantly.

“That’s the spirit!” says Percy, chuckling, and he clinks his glass against her bottle.

They fall silent again as they finish their drinks. Unbidden, Percy’s eyes drift towards Vex again, who’s apparently found herself a non-creepy dance partner that isn’t Grog or Pike. He tries and fails not to feel jealous.

“Hey, Percy?” he hears Keyleth ask hesitantly. He hums in acknowledgement. “You know you’re my best friend, right?”

Percy blinks and turns to look at her. “Yes,” he agrees, dragging the sound out, confused. “And you, mine.”

Keyleth isn’t looking at him, her gaze focused on her beer bottle where her fingers are worrying at a tear in the label. “And, you know, back when Vax and I had that weird thing, and everything was awkward and weird for everyone, and Vex was kind of mad at me, and then there was also Kash, and things were--were--”

“--weird and awkward?”

“Right, yeah, that.” Keyleth blows out a breath, then continues, “I really appreciated how you never tried to make me talk about it, even though everyone else couldn’t stop talking about it. And you just...you let me be me around you and we could talk about anything else and I...I really needed that. So...thank you for that. Since I never really thanked you before.”

“You’re welcome?” Percy says, touched but still a little mystified.

“So, I thought, I should be a friend to you like you were a friend to me and not talk about it. Not if you didn’t want to talk about it. And I mean, you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, but you know, if you _did_ want to talk about it, I am totally open to listening!”

“...I’m really not sure--”

“And I know you said not to think about it yet and to just enjoy the time we have together,” she plows on, her words tripping over each other like if she doesn’t get this out now, she never will, “but I can’t help thinking about how this is all going to end soon, and also thinking about how happy I am now to have Kash and I just...Percy, are you ever going to tell her?”

Percy freezes.

Keyleth finally raises her eyes to his, looking nervous but imploring. Percy briefly considers playing dumb, but he knows she knows, and he also knows that she knows that he knows that she knows. So. Lying is out then. Which just leaves...telling the truth. Shit.

“There’s nothing to tell.”

Keyleth sighs. “Percy…”

“Look, I’m not--not _denying_ it. But you’re right, this _is_ all going to end soon and so there’s just...no point, is there?”

“That’s not true!” Keyleth says hotly. “Kash and I are still making it work even though he’s away at med school. And Percy--don’t you think she deserves to know? Aren’t you even a little curious about what she’ll say?”

Percy laughs bitterly, rubbing at the bridge of his nose. “I know what she’ll say. Keyleth, I’m not her type.”

“Bullshit!”

“No, actually, it’s true. Think about the men and women she’s been with, and what they’re like--”

“What? Charming? Funny? Witty? Really ridiculously smart and--”

“ _And not white_.”

Keyleth opens her mouth. Closes it. She furrows her brows and Percy can see her mentally going through everyone Vex has ever dated or hooked up with and-- “...oh.”

“Yes. Oh.”

“But I mean...that doesn’t really mean anything, does it? People date outside their type all the time!”

“No, Keyleth,” he says heavily. “I’m certain she means it.”

(He remembers a late night conversation in a back stairwell at Stillben Tower their freshman year, drunken and heartfelt and utterly raw, and the first time Vex ever told him about her parents. “I don’t want to be my mother. I don’t want to be some white man’s rebellion or--or experiment or fucking Yellow Fever fantasy; something new and exciting to sample just because I’m the most exotic thing they’ve ever encountered in their entire whitebread life, and then thrown away once they’ve had their fill,” she’d spat.

And even though she wasn’t railing at him specifically, Percy remembers feeling utterly indicted. Though he knows now that what he feels for her isn’t a phase or a fetish, he also can’t blame her for how _she_ feels; not when he knows what she’s suffered, not when he knows what it’s like to live your life trying to avoid becoming your parents. And Percy knows that when Vex looks at him, she probably can’t help but see her father in him. And that night he resigns himself to the idea that they will never be.)

“But Percy…” Keyleth rests a hand on his where he’s been clenching it unconsciously on the table. He forces himself to relax.

“Keyleth,” he says, voice kept cool and even only through great force of will, “I know you mean well, but I’m invoking best friend privileges now to ask that we _please_ not talk about this anymore.”

She pauses, worrying her bottom lip with her teeth, before she nods, leaning into him to rest her head on his shoulder. “I’m sorry. You know it’s just...I just want you to be so happy,” she says, so quietly that he almost doesn’t hear it over the noise of the club.

He leans his head on hers. “I know.”

They remain like that for a little while until from behind them they hear an, “Oi!”

They turn around to see Scanlan, who has finally showed up from wherever he disappeared to, looking as indefatigably cheerful as always, if slightly flushed and sweaty. He shakes his head at them in mock disappointment. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised to see you two being lame wallflowers. _As always_.” He heaves a theatrical sigh. “You know guys, it’s practically our last hurrah! Our friends’ birthday! You should be celebrating! Like Grog over there, who’s found himself a lovely statuesque beauty to suck face with--”

Turning around back to the dance floor, they see that indeed, Grog is currently attached at the mouth to a woman with blue-green hair and what appear to be floral tattoos twining up her arms.

“--while I, myself, had the honor of watching a true musical genius at work. Why, I even spotted the birthday boy himself having a very _productive_ ‘conversation’ with Gilmore--”

“Oh, is that finally happening!?” Keyleth gasps, delighted.

Percy narrows his eyes at Scanlan. “Judging by the air quotes around ‘conversation,’ I’m assuming you mean--”

“They were _totally_ making out.”

“Who are we talking about?” asks Vex, arriving with Pike in tow, glowing with perspiration and slightly out of breath.

“Your brother and Gilmore,” Scanlan replies with an exaggerated wink.

“Oh,” says Vex, rolling her eyes a little. “Well, it’s about time, I guess.”

“Wait, I missed it: what’s happening?” asks Pike.

“I saw Vax finally convincing Gilmore he was _absolutely_ down to be his sugar baby--”

Vex screws up her face. “Ew.”

“--using his talented tongue. And by ‘talented tongue’ I don’t mean they were talking--”

“Yea, we know what you mean,” says Pike, looking a little sorry she asked.

“--although by this point, Vax has probably progressed to expressing his feelings with his nubile body, because by the time I left, hands were wandering to some very inap--”

“So, shots?” Percy interrupts loudly, when Vex starts making gagging noises.

“Shots!” cries Keyleth, throwing her arms in the air.

“ _Please_ ,” says Vex fervently.

Scanlan sighs. “As the oldest, I suppose I should buy the first round as a token of my esteem on this day of--”

“Don’t put yourself out,” Percy says dryly. “Everyone’s drinks are on me tonight.”

“You are a saint among men, de Rolo,” says Scanlan, looking relieved. “Because I’m not gonna lie, I’m pretty damn broke at this point.”

Percy feels a hand slide into his as they make their way to the bar and he looks down to see Vex dimpling up at him. “Thank you,” she says quietly, squeezing his hand.

His traitorous heart turns over in his chest and he squeezes back, swallowing. “Of course.”

At the bar, they flag Shayne down to order 5 shots. “What’s your poison, birthday girl?” asks Shayne.

Vex hums, biting her lip as she deliberates. Percy studies her profile under the glow of the bar lights--the height of her cheekbone, the beauty mark under her eye, the angular swoop of her jawline, the way the fine strands at her hairline are plastered to her skin with sweat. He forces himself to look away before he gets caught staring. “What do you have off the top shelf?” he asks Shayne on a whim.

Vex gasps, grabbing Percy’s elbow. “Oh, no, Percy, that’s too much!--”

Percy puts a hand over hers, meeting her eyes. “Can’t I spoil my friend on her birthday? Just one last time?” he asks. He means it to be glib, but it comes out a shade too honest.

Vex looks at him consideringly, something complicated unfurling behind her eyes; something Percy can’t quite read. After a moment, she seems to come to a decision, spine straightening and chin tipping up. She comes up on tiptoe to press a soft kiss to his cheek. “You’re too good to me,” she murmurs. Then she turns to Shayne, flashing her a blinding smile. “So what have we got?”

Shayne shoots Percy a knowing look and starts pointing out the options. “We’ve got Patron if you’re feeling like tequila. Or Ciroc if you want vodka. If you want something a little more unusual we’ve got Direheart--it’s an absinthe. We’ve also got some Courage if you’re looking for something sweet--”

“We’ll take the Courage,” Vex says decidedly.

“Good choice,” says Shayne, grinning, and starts setting up the shot glasses.

“To Vex!” Keyleth cries cheerfully, holding up her shot glass once they’ve been poured.

“And to Vax, in absentia,” says Scanlan. “To be sure, fucking Gilmore’s brains out is far more important than-- _oof_ ” He’s interrupted by a solid elbow in his gut from Pike. Vex sends her a grateful look.

“To friendship,” Pike says firmly.

“Hear, hear,” Percy says, and they all clink their glasses before tossing the alcohol back. The liqueur is excellent; sweeter than Percy would usually prefer, but it goes down smooth and tastes quite lovely.

“You’re not going to hang out at the bar all night, are you Percy?” asks Vex, while Pike and Keyleth are distracted with giving Scanlan a talking-to.

“Ah...well,” Percy hedges. _Busted_.

She narrows her eyes at him. “Percy…”

“Well, there’s not much else to do, is there?”

“You could dance with me,” she wheedles, looking up at him through the dark fringe of her eyelashes, which is just… _unfair_. And completely unnecessary--both he and Vex know he’s going to do what she wants, at least for a bit.

“Well,” he says, sighing magnanimously. “I suppose I could spare you a dance or--”

“For _more_ than 1 or 2 songs,” she says pointedly.

Percy pauses. That’s...not how this conversation usually goes. “Vex…”

“Please, Percy?” She moves in closer, eyes huge and imploring. “I’d rather not have to deal with creepy assholes all night. Just for tonight, I want it to be...I want it to be just us.”

_Just us_. Percy swallows, throat going dry. She doesn’t mean it the way he’s imagining. She _can’t_ mean it the way he’s imagining. She means just their circle of friends, surely. Yes, of course. With graduation drawing near, she just wants to spend as much time with them all as possible.

“I’m terrible at dancing, Vex, you know this. You couldn’t possibly enjoy yourself,” he says, falling back on familiar excuses. It’s not actually a lie--he can’t help but get stiff and awkward and self-conscious in such close proximity to her. But more importantly, he doesn’t _trust_ himself to spend more than the span of 2 songs with her--not without his body betraying _exactly_ what she does to him.

Vex gives him an impatient look. “Only because you get so embarrassed and freeze up. I keep telling you, it’s not that different from ballroom: you provide the frame and I make you look good. You just...have to trust me enough to let go and follow my lead.”

When Percy continues to hesitate, Vex bites her lip and looks down. “If it really makes you uncomfortable...if you really don’t want to, you don’t have to. I just wanted…” she trails off and laughs, a little embarrassed. “It doesn’t matter. It was a silly thought anyway.” The smile she flashes at him is obviously false and Percy feels a stab of guilt. “I’ll just go now,” she says, starting to back away. “You enjoy yourself here, darling, and I’ll--”

“Wait.” He grabs her wrist, halting her retreat. Goddammit. He’s weak. He’s _so_ weak. He closes his eyes and lets his head drop for just a second before steeling himself and turning back around. “Shayne? Two more shots of Courage, if you would be so kind.”

“Percy?” Vex asks hesitantly, confused.

He shakes his head and gives her a rueful smile. “If I’m going to do this, I need to be far less sober.”

Confusion gives way to realization, then delight. “Really?!” she asks; her smile this time is wild and genuine. “You’ll do it? Oh, but--” her smile dims a bit with doubt, “--are you sure, dear? I didn’t mean to guilt you into doing it if that’s what this is.”

He takes a shot from Shayne and presses it into her hand. “Dear? I don’t mean to be rude, but shut up and take this shot with me before you drag me off to my doom.”

She laughs, smiling at him over the glass and they down the Courage together. Liquid courage accomplished, he lets her take him by the hand and pull him to the dance floor. When she sees where they’re headed, Pike whoops and chivvies Scanlan and Keyleth after them.

Vex seems to know exactly where she wants to go. She pushes through the crowd until she’s satisfied with their location, then turns and pulls Percy in, arms on his shoulders. “Remember!” she says, pulling him down and raising her voice so he can hear her over the music. “Just do what I do. And _relax_!” She waits until he nods his understanding, and turns around, fitting her back to his front.

Between the five of them, they manage to carve out a small space in the crowd. Vex starts moving, setting up a rhythmic semi-circular sway that Percy tries to follow as best he can. He can tell she’s going easy on him and he appreciates it; before long he can feel himself starting to catch the beat, and Vex shoots him a pleased grin over her shoulder. It really is not unlike ballroom dancing in a sense and well, if he has to count out the beat in his head like a newbie, it’s worth it for the way it makes Vex light up as their movements together gain confidence. He catches Keyleth’s eyes and she smirks, giving him a significant look. He narrows his eyes at her, wordlessly telling her to mind her own business. Then he has to laugh, because bless her heart but Keyleth has zero sense of rhythm. This is why the two of them usually hole up in a corner somewhere, drinking, when they go out to parties and clubs. She gamely bops along awkwardly anyway, just drunk enough not to care.

Percy isn’t drunk--not yet--but he’s definitely starting to feel his buzz. And perhaps it’s the drinks; perhaps it’s the fact that he’s surrounded by all (well, most of) his favorite people on one of their last few nights together; perhaps it’s the woman in his arms; or, perhaps it’s all of the above, but Percy finds that he’s actually _enjoying_ club dancing for once. Years of ballroom training means he’s used to leading, but he’s finding that with the pleasant hum of alcohol percolating in his bloodstream, it’s surprisingly easy to cede control to Vex, who clearly knows better than he what she’s doing. And then he considers that perhaps it’s not so surprising after all--he’s pretty much been letting Vex do exactly what she wants with him in all the time they’ve known each other. Why should this be any different?

The songs play on and they keep dancing and still Vex makes no indication that she’d like to dance with someone who isn’t Percy now. Percy is simultaneously gratified yet wary. Surely she’ll want a different partner soon? Any minute now…

Scanlan eventually drifts away from their group, a look in his eye that suggests that he’s identified his latest conquest. Vex puts a hand over one of Percy’s where it’s resting on her hip, lacing their fingers together. Percy swallows, feeling his heartbeat kick as she directs their joined hands to rest against her lower abdomen instead, letting herself press back into him, closing the scant distance he’d politely been trying to maintain. He takes a deep shuddering breath, and even despite the miasma of overzealously applied fragrances, body odor, sweat and alcohol from the crowd around them, the scent of her--a floral fragrance that reminds him of trees in spring, bright sunlight, and fresh grass--fills his nose, settling in his lungs, and making him giddily dizzy.

Vex lets her head loll back against his shoulder and he looks down at her profile in wonder. Her eyes are closed and the colored lights of the dance floor play over her face, catching in the shimmering powder of her eyeshadow, the shine of her lip gloss, and the sheen of perspiration on her forehead. There’s a small smile on her lips and oddly enough, she looks content where she is. His fingers flex unconsciously and she squeezes back with the hand that’s laced with his, thumb rubbing soothingly against his own. He lets his eyes drift half-closed, lets himself rest his jaw against her temple, nose in her hair; lets himself bask in the feel of Vex, sweet and trusting in his arms.

He’s not entirely sure how much time passes, but he distantly registers Pike and Keyleth gesturing that they’re leaving--to get more drinks? To head to the bathroom? Percy can’t quite make out what they’re mouthing over the music and is honestly too distracted to care overmuch.

The music changes to something slower, more R&B in flavor, and the lights seem to dim in deference to the atmosphere. Vex shifts, lifting her free hand to curve around Percy’s neck, her fingers curling into the hairs at his nape. He shivers a little at the feel of her nails scratching against his scalp. She turns her head into his jaw and his lips graze her temple; when he licks them, he can taste the salt of her sweat. She moves with more intent, hips rolling, every part of her pressed up against him and Percy follows, helpless. He must be drunker than he thinks, because he can hardly believe his own daring, but he lets his hand circle the wrist of the hand at his neck, feeling how delicate, how small it is in his grasp. Letting instinct guide him, he slides his hand down her arm slowly, brushes the backs of his knuckles down her side as it drifts lower and feels her shiver. His hand spreads against her belly, feeling the way the muscles under his palm flex as she grinds on him.

Her fingers in the hair at the back of his head tighten, pulling at the strands and sending a bolt of heat straight through the core of him and _shit_ , he can feel his cock stirring in his pants. With the way they’re plastered against each other, there’s no way she won’t be able to feel it, but he can’t bring himself to pull away from her. She moves on him like temptation incarnate, and with her hand pulling at his hair and her ass cradled against his groin, his traitorous brain can’t help but conjure up visions of bending her over and taking her, just like this. Vex doesn’t help with the way she’s turned her face into his neck, breath puffing warm and humid and utterly distracting against his throat and the underside of his jaw. She drags their joined hands lower and lower still, until he’s scant inches from cupping her mound. He’s almost fully hard now--there’s no way she hasn’t noticed--but she doesn’t seem to mind. If anything, she seems to encourage the way this encounter is going, dragging her fingers along his jawline and down his throat, leaving trails of heat in their wake, and pressing back into his erection. He can’t help but let out a groan, fingers tightening on her reflexively.

The song changes to something dark, slow, and sensual, with a driving bass line that he can feel rumbling through him. Vex pulls away and he only has a moment to mourn the loss of her heat before she’s turning around and crowding in close again. With the lights lowered, he can’t quite make out the expression on her face before she presses her temple against his jaw, obscuring herself from his view. She slips a leg between his, straddling his thigh, arms coming up to curl her hands over his shoulders. Her hips start to undulate, moving like liquid sin, and Percy--drunk on alcohol, her scent, her heat, and on lust--can barely keep up. Her dress is riding up and without thinking, he pulls the hem down, fingers brushing the skin of her thigh. He feels more than hears her moan, feels her shuddering breath on his neck and the way her hips falter, throwing her off the beat. His hand is frozen, hovering above her skin, and she reaches down, directing it to cup her thigh as she finds the rhythm again and resumes her grind.

He swallows, throat dry, and moves with her, hardly believing that she’d encourage his touch like this. One of her hands slips into the open collar of his shirt, thumb tracing across his collarbone before she cups the bend where his shoulder meets his neck. His breath comes heavier at the feel of her hand on his bare skin, her touch like a brand. Unable to resist, one of his hands finds the groove of her spine, dragging his fingers up the length the way he’s wanted to all night. She _arches_ against him, gasping, rhythm lost, and _oh Jesus_ , this is the hottest thing that’s ever happened to him.

She drags his head down, and stupid with lust and distracted by her breath against his ear, it takes a moment before he makes out what she’s saying. “Again,” she gasps. “Please, Percy, do that again.”

She doesn’t need to tell him twice. He drags his blunt nails down her back and the way she whimpers and trembles in his arms is better than he could have ever imagined. Overcome, he presses his mouth against her temple and buries his face in her hair. Emboldened by the way she clutches at him in response, he brushes her hair back to expose her neck, tucking the strands behind her ear. He grazes his lips against the shell of her ear, kisses the height of her cheekbone, and buries his hand at the base of her head, tilting her face so that he can drag kisses down her cheek until he can nip at the hinge of her jaw.

She fists her hands in the back of his shirt, then starts untucking it, freeing the fabric and slipping her hands under so she can scrape her nails against the skin of his lower back. He grunts, pushing his hips into hers. They’re hardly dancing now, mostly clutching at each other as they slowly drive each other out of their minds. He presses a kiss in the soft hollow behind her ear, laving over the same spot to taste the salt of her skin, and scrapes his teeth against her throat in retaliation when her nails bite into his back. He can feel her heart pounding against him, a mirror to his own, and the way her chest heaves with her gasps. He continues to suck kisses down the column of her slender neck, a hand drifting down to her ass to press their hips together as they grind together mindlessly with no regard for the music, chasing their pleasure.

In their distraction, someone bumps into Vex from behind and they stumble, Percy catching Vex against his chest. She pulls back a little and they regard each other for a heated moment. She looks appealingly mussed, her chest rising and falling with her rapid breaths, her curls wild, but it’s the look in her eyes that steals the air from Percy’s lungs. She looks at him like she wants to...like she wants to _devour_ him and he feels his brain stutter to a halt, because it’s everything he’s ever wanted and it’s really, actually happening to him. Never mind that just moments ago he’s had his lips and his hands in places he’d only ever dreamed of having them. Now-- _this moment_ \--is when he realizes that _he can have this_. He could lean down, right now, and finally claim her lips, learn the taste of her, and she probably would welcome it. If he’s reading her right, that is. God, he hopes he’s reading her right. The overwhelming realization and the simultaneous doubt war with each other, locking him in indecision and he freezes, unsure how to proceed.

Vex, apparently, has no such doubts. She drags him down to her, taking his lips--and he does mean _taking_ his lips because there is nothing polite about her kiss. She bites at his lips, licking into his mouth to kiss him wet and dirty when he opens for her. He surrenders to her, loses himself in sensation, and fuck, not even his wildest fantasies could compare to the real thing. She’s electric in his arms, hot and thrilling, and he can only hope to keep up with her ardor.

He chases her tongue as it retreats into her mouth, angling her head to kiss her deep. He doesn’t try to stop the moan that escapes from the back of his throat as their tongues slide against each other, savors the way she shivers when he tickles the roof of her mouth. He can feel the soft crush of her breasts against his chest through the fabric of her dress, the hum of approval she makes against his mouth when he squeezes her ass. Her hands are everywhere--dragging through his hair one minute, fisting in his collar the next, sliding up the hem of his shirt where she untucked it to get at his skin, then sneaking down to give his ass a grope in return. He lets his own hands explore the bare skin of her back, raking at it at odd intervals in the way he’s come to know she likes, greedily soaking up her every reaction.

He doesn’t know how long they spend making out on the dance floor, but he does know that he wasn’t ready to give up her lips when someone knocks into him from the back, forcing them to part. He nearly snarls, and then with a blink, he takes in the way the crowd has pressed in around them. Vex must come to the same conclusion that he does--there’s no way they can continue without constantly jostling against a neighbor--because she pulls him back down to her, gives his ear a nip, and then says into it, “Percival...take me back to your apartment.”

He freezes. She doesn’t say “back to your place” or “your room.” During the housing lottery last year, Percy selected a single in Westruun Hall, right next door to the Engineering building, because mornings are hard for him and a 5 minute commute to classes was convenient. But since freshman year his parents have paid for a 1 bedroom apartment in the city, 20 minutes from the university, which has been his sanctuary when campus life gets too overwhelming to cope with. It’s an indulgence only someone like him could afford and which he’s grateful for now, because it means that he can spread Vex out on a comfortable queen-sized mattress with its Egyptian cotton sheets, instead of a lumpy twin-sized mattress in a somewhat rickety room with thin walls. With that image burning in his mind, Percy leans down to kiss her soundly, before grabbing her hand and dragging her out of the crush of the dance floor.

“We should let the others know we’re leaving,” he says distractedly, even as he continues to pull her towards the exit, opening up the Lyft app.

“I’m texting them right now,” she replies, and when he spares her a glance, she is indeed tapping away one-handed on her phone.

The Lyft takes only 3 minutes to arrive, but it feels like an eternity. They stand there at the curb, still holding hands, quiet and radiating tension. When the car arrives, they pour themselves in. Percy just barely manages a greeting to the driver before Vex is on him, pulling his mouth down to hers. He dimly makes out a quiet cough and then the driver pointedly turning up the music, before he is thoroughly distracted by Vex.

It seems like almost no time at all before their driver tentatively, then more loudly, informs them that they’ve arrived at Percy’s high-rise. Percy thanks him hastily, helping Vex out of the car, and then they’re power-walking hand-in-hand through the entrance and the lobby, nodding at the doorman as they pass and heading to the elevators.

Vex pins him to the wall of the elevator as soon as the doors close behind them, playfully nipping and kissing at his neck and teasing at his belt, and generally being the best kind of distraction as Percy snickers and tries to finish up their Lyft transaction. He gives their driver, Desmond, 5 stars and a hefty tip for having to put up with them; he’d feel bad, except this night is turning out to be every fantasy he’s ever had come true, and in the end, he can’t be that sorry. That done, he puts his phone away and devotes himself to getting Vex back.

They’re so absorbed in each other, they nearly miss their floor. Percy just manages to get his hand in the doors before they close, and they stumble out into the hallway, giggling. Somehow they make it down the hall to his apartment door, interrupted by several detours to press each other against the walls, kissing and sneaking gropes, and laughing into each other’s mouths with giddy anticipation.

It takes several tries to get his keys in the door with his attention so fully preoccupied, but he finally unlocks it and they stagger in, slamming the door behind them. The abrupt transition from the lighted hallway to the relative darkness of his apartment means they can’t see a damn thing at first. Instead of risking injury by stumbling around blind, he presses Vex against the door, nuzzling his face into her hair as he waits for his eyes to adjust, while she kisses his collarbone and wraps her arms around him in an embrace. His apartment gradually comes into focus around him, dimly illuminated by the lights of the city.

Percy pulls back and cups her face in his hands, and takes a moment to marvel that she’s _here_ , after all this time. It overwhelms him for a moment, the knowledge that this is the culmination of 4 years of quietly and hopelessly loving her and having to swallow those feelings so that he could be the friend she deserved. Except it’s not hopeless. Maybe. And something in his chest expands at that thought, the stunning possibility of it, until he feels like he might burst with the emotion.

He kisses her then, slow and thorough, pouring all these years of pent-up longing into it, a wordless confession of how dearly he’s wanted her. She melts against him with a sigh and he loses himself in long, drugging kisses, indulges in the soft warmth of her lips, tilts his head to delve deeper into her mouth, chasing the taste of her.

With some regret and a heroic effort of will, he parts from her mouth, angling her head back so he can lave a kiss where her pulse flutters at her neck, because he’s just had a Thought, and now that the image is in his head, he has to see it through. He continues downward: a sucking kiss at the bend where neck meets shoulder; another at the notch of her sternum; a press of lips between her breasts over the fabric of her dress; one above her belly button.

He can hear her breath get heavier as he lowers himself to his knees. He looks up at her from where he’s kneeling and admires the way the light coming through the slats of his blinds falls across her face, leaving behind a breathtaking study in chiaroscuro. He holds her eyes, doesn’t look away as he runs his hands down the smooth skin of her legs. When he reaches her ankles, he lifts one foot, settling it on his thigh, and starts to undo the buckle of her strappy heel. He sets the shoe aside, then works his thumbs into the ball of her foot. He’s never given a foot massage before, but he figures he’s doing well enough given the way she groans, letting her head fall back to thud dully against the door. He doesn’t linger over long on the massage, knowing it must be awkward to balance on one leg. He repeats the process on her other foot, bending to kiss her knee before setting it back on the floor.

“Fuck, Percy, your hands…” he hears her rasp.

Percy meets her eyes, feeling the weight of her hungry gaze on him, and a curl of warmth kindles in his belly at her words. Well, if it’s his hands she wants... His fingertips ghost up the sides of her thighs, dipping under her hemline, and then they continue upwards, slowly dragging the dress up with them. He pulls the dress up over her hips and groans when he sees that all she’s wearing underneath is a lacy, barely-there scrap of fabric that hardly qualifies as underwear. He presses his forehead into her stomach, overcome, and takes a deep breath to try to regain his composure. Which is a mistake, because as he breathes in, he realizes he can _smell_ her, musky and heady and _so_ so aroused. His cock throbs in his pants.

“All right there, Percival?” she asks, running her hand through his hair. He can just hear the smirk in her voice.

He rears back, eyes narrowed, and her eyes twinkle wickedly at him, that smirk tucking into the corner of her mouth. In response, he curls his fingers in the straps of her thong and starts to tug it down, noting with satisfaction the way her jaw falls slack as he does so. The fabric clings to her as he peels it down, letting him know exactly how wet she is for him. He gets down to her ankles and she lifts her feet obligingly as he removes it, before he tosses the lacy confection aside heedlessly. Without further ado, he slings one of her legs over his shoulder, opening her up to him, and takes just the barest moment to appreciate the pretty pink of her cunt before he leans in and licks a stripe up the seam of her.

She gasps loudly, hands flying to clutch at his hair. She was probably expecting him to continue dragging things out the way he had been, but quite frankly he’s been wanting to bury his head between her thighs for 4 years and he’s done waiting. He keeps his tongue soft and flat at first, taking broad licks and getting the lay of the land as it were. The salt-sweet taste of her blooms in his mouth and he lets out a quiet hum of pleasure. Vex shivers and moans at the vibrations, fingers petting at his hair as he continues to explore the petals of her labia. He ignores direct contact with her clit for now, tracing teasing, aimless patterns along the core of her, building the anticipation as he flirts at the edge of her nub, tickles at her entrance with the tip of his tongue. Her hips shift, restless, as he eats at her lazily, and he smirks inwardly at the impatient little noises she makes as he works. Never one to suffer dissatisfaction for long, Vex finally pulls sharply at his hair.

“Percy, _come on_ ,” she pleads, voice high and thin, and tugs him towards her clit.

He obligingly lets her position him where she wants him and flutters his tongue softly at her clit as she sighs in relief. He starts to draw circles around it with his tongue, building the pressure, then backs off. Her whine of protest is cut off with a gasp when he blows gently, and she shudders at the cool rush of air against sensitized skin. He ducks his head back in, closing his lips around her clit and applying a soft suction to the bundle of nerves. She arches with a cry, and he grabs her hips, holding her steady as he nurses at her gently. He pulls away, releasing her trapped flesh, then licks up her slit with the flat of his tongue once, twice, before settling back in to lap at her clit.

He keeps up an unpredictable pattern, sometimes gentle, sometimes intense. He flickers his tongue against her clit, experimenting, and finds that she prefers side-to-side strokes just below her hood. He pauses to press soft kisses against her cunt, draws her bud into his mouth to suckle at her at random intervals. She was already drenched when he’d started, but now she’s dripping with a combination of her slick and his saliva; it runs down her inner thighs, and his cheeks and jaw are smeared with it and he couldn’t care less what a mess they’re making.

Percy shifts to make room for his hand and presses a finger at her entrance. It slides in to the third knuckle without resistance, she’s that wet. Vex lets out a long, drawn out “ _Fuuuuuuuck_ ” as he pushes in and sets a steady rhythm, crooking his finger and searching out that slightly rougher patch of skin along her front walls. He knows when he finds it because Vex fairly yells, going rigid for a moment as her head thuds back against the door. He slips in a second finger, which slides in just as easily, and focuses on working at her g-spot, while he continues to work her clit with lips and tongue.

Percy spares a moment to hope no one’s in the hall at this time of night, because Vex is _not_ quiet and he fucking loves it. She’s not shy about letting him know what is or isn’t working and the needy, uninhibited sounds she makes--every sigh, every whimper, every broken moan, every whisper of his name--go straight to his cock and set the blood pounding in his veins. She fills every one of his senses and he gives himself over to the smell, the sight, the sound, the taste, and the feel of her.

She’s clutching at his shoulders now to keep herself upright, almost sobbing as he pushes her closer and closer to her peak. He doesn’t tease anymore, worrying at that spot inside her with the pads of 3 fingers now and keeping a steady pressure on her clit with his tongue. She shatters with a silent scream, as if she doesn’t have enough air left in her lungs to make any noise, and her internal muscles flutter and clamp down rhythmically against his fingers, even as he keeps pumping them in and out of her cunt, prolonging her orgasm. She shudders violently, and if Percy weren’t holding her up, he’s sure she would’ve lost her legs. He licks gently at her as she comes down, until she pushes weakly at his forehead, mumbling that she’s had enough.

He pulls back, using his sleeves to clean his face. Vex slumps against the door, thighs still trembling, then slowly starts to slide down. Percy gathers her into his arms as she sinks, then hisses as her weight settles into his lap and his legs protest and remind him that he’s been kneeling for a good while now. He tries to shift into a more comfortable seated position, an inelegant process which is made more difficult by the pins and needles sensation in his legs, as well as Vex’s dead weight, before he decides, _fuck it_ , and just lays back on the floor. He sighs as Vex snuggles her face into the crook of his neck, running his hands in soothing patterns over her back as she recovers.

“Holy _shit_ , Percy,” Vex murmurs at last, voice slightly muffled. 

“I take it you enjoyed that then?” he says, all innocence.

She snorts and thumps his shoulder weakly for his cheek. “Eh, it was okay.”

Percy chuckles and pinches her on her bare ass in retaliation, enjoying the little squeak of indignation she makes. She pushes herself up to scowl down at him and she’s so bloody cute he just has to lift his face to hers and kiss that pout. They sink into the kiss and it’s sweet and chaste and so full of affection; that expansive, too-full feeling in his chest is back and if it weren’t for Vex’s weight anchoring him down, Percy thinks he might float away, buoyant with the sheer joy of the moment.

Vex eventually pulls away, breaking the kiss, but doesn’t go far. Her hair has fallen around their faces, creating a small bubble of intimacy, and when she speaks, he can feel her breath feathering against his lips. “But honestly darling, that was wonderful.” She brushes her nose against his affectionately. “Thank you.”

“There’s no need to thank me,” he says quietly, running his hands up and down her sides before settling them at the narrow of her waist, squeezing reassuringly. “It was my pleasure--truly.”

“Was it though?” Vex asks lightly. She shifts, rolling her hips, and Percy breathes in sharply at the pressure against his still-hard cock. “Because it seems to me that we haven’t quite seen to your pleasure yet.”

“Well, I mean, if you insist…” he says, his nonchalance somewhat belied by the breathiness of his tone.

Vex chuckles, low and throaty, and bends to kiss him again. She licks into his mouth and he meets her tongue with his own, slanting his head to kiss her closer, deeper. He feels his blood begin to heat as the desire that had settled into a low simmer in the afterglow of her first orgasm is stoked ever higher with each eager slide of lips and tongue. She hasn’t stopped moving her hips, grinding her core against his erection with increasing fervor. He can feel the heat of her even through the fabric of his pants--she’s probably making a mess of them but he finds he doesn’t give a fuck--and it makes him desperate to know what the wet warmth of her cunt against his bare flesh would feel like.

He tears his mouth from hers, breathing harshly, and is gratified by the little whine of disapproval she makes, the way she tries to chase after his lips. “While I’m not averse to you having your wicked way with me right here and now,” he pants, “I’d like to point out that there’s a large and comfortable bed just over in the next room.”

She pauses and makes a show of thinking over his suggestion. “Well, it’s not quite as dirty and delicious as fucking like animals on the floor of the entrance to your apartment,” she says finally, and Percy lets outs a quiet groan at the picture she paints, his cock twitching, “but I’ll admit that you make a compelling point.” She tosses her hair back, imperiously. “Very well, then--take me to bed.”

“So glad you see it my way,” he says, voice strangled. They help each other up from the floor and Vex wobbles a little as she stands. Once stable, she glares at Percy, as if daring him to comment. He smirks, and struck by sudden mischievous inspiration, bends and slings her over his shoulder before heading to the bedroom.

Vex shrieks and kicks her feet a little. “Percy! You Neanderthal!” she gasps, mock-scandalized, then laughs. “How positively barbaric of you!” She smacks his ass playfully.

Percy chuckles and gives her a love tap in return before carefully maneuvering them through the doorway of his room. He shuts the door behind them, crosses the few feet to the foot of his bed and tosses her onto it. She shrieks again, dissolving into giggles as she comes down, bouncing on the mattress.

He takes a moment to drink in the sight of her sprawled over his now-rumpled bedspread, laughing, hair a mess, her dress still rucked up around her hips, and _so fucking beautiful_ he almost doesn't know what to do with himself. 

Her laughter fades and she looks back at him, biting back a grin, eyes fond but hungry. "You're wearing far too many clothes, darling. Be a dear and take them off, won't you?" she says.

As if on auto-pilot, he starts unbuttoning his shirt, then gets distracted when she wriggles out of her dress.

She's _gorgeous_ \--all long limbs and smooth tan skin. Her breasts look like they'd be perfect handfuls, topped with dark brown nipples already drawn hard and tight. His eyes track down the soft swell of her belly to the trimmed patch of dark hair between her legs and he's struck with a sudden image of himself worshipping at her cunt again, her legs spread wide, back arched, breasts rising and falling with her panting breaths.

Vex smirks at him, crawling to where he's standing at the foot of the bed, dumbstruck. She comes to a kneel, rising up to take over undressing him, batting nerveless fingers away from his buttons. She takes her time undoing each one, working her way down and leaning forward to press a kiss to each newly revealed patch of skin. Percy's breathing is ragged, and the muscles of his abdomen jump and twitch with every press of her lips.

After she's opened the last button, she pulls out the tails of the shirt from his waistband and he hurriedly moves to shuck it off while she rearranges herself to lie on her stomach. She undoes his belt buckle with deft fingers, pops the button of his pants, then looks up from under her eyelashes to lock gazes with him as she slowly pulls down the zipper. He watches, rapt, barely breathing, as she draws down the waistband of his boxer briefs along with his pants, revealing his straining erection.

He lets out a shuddering breath as she wraps her hand around him, pumping him slow, once, twice, before swiping the pad of her thumb over the head of his dick, smearing the pre-come leaking from the tip. Eyes never leaving his, she traces her tongue over the head of his cock, tickling at the slit there, before pressing his cock against his belly so she can lick a stripe up his shaft from root to tip. She circles the head with her tongue, before drawing him into her mouth, and the noise Percy makes is frankly embarrassing, but he can't give a shit, not with her mouth so hot and perfect around him.

It's good, it's _so good_. With shaking fingers, Percy helps her draw her hair out of her face, gathering the mass of it in his hands while she bobs her head on his dick, working what she can't fit in her mouth with her hand. Her clever tongue traces maddening designs over his shaft and she keeps making little humming sounds of satisfaction, the vibrations heightening his pleasure.

It’s _too_ good actually. In what seems like almost no time at all, he feels the edge of his orgasm rising up. He supposes it’s not much of a surprise; he’s been hard since the club, and what’s a man to do when he finally has the girl of his dreams sucking him off, her eyes hot on his, lips stretched tight around his cock, cheeks hollowing as she works herself back and forth with unfeigned enthusiasm? How many times over all these years has he (shamefully) jerked himself off to this very image?

But fuck, he’s not ready for it to be over, not so soon. Percy’s still not convinced Vex won’t come to her senses, and if this is the only night he ever gets with her, he wants it to be good for them both.

“Vex,” he gasps, tugging on her hair, gently trying to urge her away. “Vexvex _vex_ , you have to stop.”

She pulls off him with a soft _pop_ , but leaves her hand wrapped around the base of him. “What? What is it? What’s wrong?” she asks, confused. 

“Nothing was wrong,” he assures her, taking deep breaths in an attempt to master himself again. “It was just--” he gives her a rueful little smile, “--it was just going to be over very quickly if you kept on going.”

She gives him a sly smile and pumps him with her hand again, the little minx. Percy grits his teeth around a helpless grunt. “But that was what I wanted,” she purrs. She pauses, suckling at the tip of his cock. Then, with a wink and a wicked look in her eyes, she says, “Come in my mouth,” before swallowing him down again.

Percy’s only a man and a little too susceptible to Vex’s wiles, so he lets himself enjoy her talented mouth for a few more minutes until he _absolutely_ has to pull her away before he embarrasses himself. He pulls a little too sharply at her hair, sliding free from her mouth when she gasps. He drops down onto his knees heavily so that his face is level with hers, mumbling, “Sorry, sorry,” as he draws her in for a kiss that’s more teeth than tongue, smoothing his hands over her hair in apology.

“Don’t be,” she murmurs back, then nips at his bottom lip. “That wasn’t a bad gasp. But you should apologize for stopping me.”

He groans and rests his forehead against hers. “Have mercy, Vex. Any other time I’d be happy to let you take me apart with just your mouth, but I’ve thought about this moment too many times to be satisfied with anything less than coming inside you.”

Vex stills and is silent for a long moment, long enough for Percy to start quietly panicking that he’s revealed too much too soon. “Thought about this for a while, have you?” she says finally, a little shakily.

Percy takes a moment to consider how to respond, wonders whether he should dial back the intensity with glib banter. Maybe...maybe this doesn’t mean as much to her as it does to him. Maybe she’s just scratching an itch, satisfying a curiosity while she still has the chance. Would she bolt if he was too sincere? If he let her see just how much he wants her? Should he play this off so he can finally have her? Can he honestly be satisfied with just this one night? 

The thing is...this is not casual for Percy. It was never going to be casual for Percy, not after that first day at Orientation. She’s had him by the heart from the minute she’d grabbed his hand to release him from jail during that Capture the Flag game. And he’s a selfish man, but he won’t do her or himself the disservice of lying about his feelings just so he can get laid. Because if he’s honest, he _won’t_ be satisfied with just this one night and if she doesn't want to be with him the way he wants to be with her, better to find out now, while they can both still walk away without shattering what they have between them completely.

“Yes,” he admits quietly. “For ages and ages, darling.”

The words hang in the silence between them and Percy’s heart squeezes as he waits for her response.

She breathes, the sound shaky and audible, and then surges up to meet his lips, kissing him wild and desperate. “Make love to me, Percival,” she whispers against his mouth, before biting down on his bottom lip.

He groans and gives back as good as he gets. He keeps kissing her as he pulls off his remaining clothing. It’s not a graceful process by any means but by god he does it. They separate briefly as he urges her to scoot backwards on the bed and he follows her, crawling over her on hands and knees, following her down as she lays back against the pillows.

They moan in unison as he settles himself against her, finally skin-to-skin. They kiss and kiss and Percy lets himself drown in sensation--the soft press of her breasts against his chest, the bright clean scent of her overlaid with the muskier notes of her arousal, the drag of her toes against the back of his calf, her nails scratching over his scalp, the slick sounds of their lips meeting over and over.

He explores the skin of her neck with a thoroughness they hadn’t had time for earlier, kissing and sucking, finding the spots that make her whimper and sigh, but trying to be careful not to leave marks. He finally cups a breast in one hand, weighing and shaping the flesh, rolling a nipple between his fingers. At the urging of her hands, he leaves off his attentions to her neck, taking her other nipple into his mouth, riding the motion as she arches against the bed with a stuttered groan. Vex is so beautifully responsive and under her enthusiastic instruction he learns that she likes a bit of pain with her pleasure, that he doesn’t need to be gentle when he tugs at her nipples, that she likes the scrape of his teeth when he worries them with his mouth.

One of his hands drifts down between her legs, finding her still wet and open for him. He slides his fingers through her folds, gathering her slick and rubbing at her clit as he continues to lavish attention on her breasts. She rolls her hips, trying to get more friction, and he dips one, then two fingers into her cunt, setting his thumb on her clit as he works them in and out, aiming for her g-spot again. He wants to see her come apart one more time before he takes her, but apparently Vex isn’t willing to wait.

“Percy,” she pleads, voice choked, tugging urgently at him. “Percy, please, no more. Come inside me, please come inside me, I want you so much, darling, please, please, _please_.”

He can’t deny her, not when she begs so prettily, but there’s also a part of him that can’t help being a bit of a shit. Looking her straight in the eye, he holds her gaze as he brings his fingers to his mouth, ostentatiously sucking the flavor of her from them.

The look she gives him is all fire and she fists her hand in his hair, dragging him to her for a ruthless kiss. “Condom,” she gasps, when she breaks the kiss. “Condom _now_ , Percy.”

He steals one more heated kiss before leaning over and rummaging through his nightstand drawer. He pulls a packet off the strip, opens it, and rolls it on with trembling fingers. Almost as soon as he has it on, she wraps her arms around his neck, dragging him down with her, kissing him with impatient desperation. He rolls his hips, letting the underside of his cock drag through the slickness between her folds, a pale imitation of what they’re both truly craving.

Vex moans brokenly, reaching down to guide him into her. Percy pulls back from her lips as the head of his cock notches at her entrance, propping himself onto his elbows and looking into her eyes for a breathless moment. In that instant, he can see every emotion coursing through him reflected in her--the hungry anticipation, the equally terrified apprehension, the mutual acknowledgement that this is the point of no return, that nothing will be the same after this.

Finally, _finally_ , he presses into her in a slow hot slide, and Vex gasps, eyes fluttering shut as she throws her head back. Percy grits his teeth, cursing as he continues to sink into her; even through the condom the heat of her is scalding and her muscles bear down on him, drawing him deeper into her, the incredible pressure of it almost too much for him to handle. When he finally bottoms out inside her he has to take a moment to attempt to master himself, burying his face in her neck and taking deep, shuddering breaths to stave off coming too soon. Vex clutches at him and he realizes she’s trembling too and probably just as overwhelmed as he is.

Once he feels a little more in control of himself, he draws back the slightest bit and gives an experimental thrust. His breath hisses through his teeth at the drag of his cock against her silken walls and the bite of her nails as she reacts to just that small movement. He pulls out and pushes back in, a longer thrust this time, eyes rapt on her face as he gauges her response. She nods, wordlessly urging him on, and he keeps rolling his hips.

It’s awkward at first, the way first-time sex usually is, as they try to catch each other’s rhythm, shifting and adjusting to try to find an angle that works for the both of them. They settle into a steady give-and-take, one of her legs hooked over his hip, as Percy tries to keep the depth and speed of his thrusts straddling the balance between good enough for her, without being too much for him. It’s working for him--good _god_ , is it working for him--but he’s not sure it’s doing it for her. Vex’s eyes are closed, and she’s breathing hard beneath him, and he’s vaguely encouraged by the way she can’t seem to stop touching him, running her hands over his shoulders, his arms, down his chest. But he knows what she sounds like when he’s really pleasing her and the idea that he’s failing her right now is...it’s unacceptable.

He stills his hips and Vex’s eyes fly open, her expression confused. The question is obvious on her face, but before she can voice it, he’s lowered himself down, tugging her into his arms until he can roll them both over. She gasps a little, catching herself on his chest as he maneuvers her on top of him. She blinks down at him, then relaxes, a sly smile spreading across her face. “Getting tired already?” she asks, as she settles herself more comfortably atop him.

“I figured it was your turn to do a little work,” he says, palming her hips and smirking.

Her mouth drops open in outrage for a second at this, before she clamps it shut, narrowing her eyes and smacking him on the shoulder. “I’m going to make you eat those words,” she mutters, bracing herself on his chest.

“I look forward to it,” Percy replies, honestly.

It doesn’t surprise Percy at all that Vex takes no prisoners when it comes to sex. She sets a punishing rhythm from the get-go, purely to spite him he’s sure. He grits his teeth, trying not to let the pleasure pull him under too soon, wanting to last, wanting to make this good for her. She’s gorgeous above him, her breasts swaying with her every undulation, hair falling wild around her face, and the sounds of her pleasure are music to his ears, letting him know he’s made the right call letting her decide the pace of their lovemaking.

From this position, Percy’s hands are free to explore. He cups her breasts, shaping the flesh, tugging at her nipples the way he knows she likes best. He smooths his palms up and down her flanks, her thighs, the round of her hips, mesmerized by the silken texture of her skin. He rakes his fingers down her back, savoring the way it makes her cry out, makes her stutter in her rhythm.

“ _Fuck_ , Percy,” she sobs out, voice wrecked. She’s moving on him with a desperate edge and he knows now what she sounds like when she’s close. He plants his feet on the bed, thrusting up to meet her, and rubs her clit in tight, quick circles with the pad of his thumb. 

“Yes, yes,” he pants, eyes glued to her face, wanting to see it, to watch her come apart for him. “Come for me, Vex. Do it, I want you to, come on, _come on_ …”

She whines out his name in response and he can see it, she’s close, she’s _so_ close, but not quite there yet. He can hear the frustration in her tone as she reaches for her end, her rhythm starting to fail her, and he leaves off rubbing at her clit to grab her hips, urging her onward, keeping her moving.

She slams one palm on the mattress by his head with a snarl, rubbing desperately at her clit with her other hand, until finally, _finally_ she’s coming with a choked-off scream, entire body shuddering with the force of her orgasm, her internal muscles squeezing down rhythmically on his cock, dragging his own climax from the tattered vestiges of his self-control. He comes with a shout, slamming her down onto his cock and holding her there as he empties himself into the condom.

She slumps onto him, boneless, and with a monumental effort, Percy manages to wrap his arms around her. He allows himself to bask in the afterglow for a few moments as they both come down, until he absolutely has to coax her off of him so that he can deal with the condom. Vex rolls off of him with a disgruntled noise, and once he’s disposed of it, she burrows back into his arms, tangling their legs together with a possessiveness that makes his heart squeeze.

It’s silent for a long while and Percy drifts, limbs heavy and mind pleasantly fuzzy with blissed-out lassitude. He’s debating whether it’s worth it to get up to go to the bathroom and take out his contacts when he hears Vex whisper his name.

“Percy?”

He hums vaguely in acknowledgement.

“When you say ‘ages and ages’...” she asks hesitantly, “...do you mean--how long exactly have you….?”

Percy freezes. Ah. So they’re having That Talk then. Well. He supposes if he hasn’t managed to scare her off yet, he’s probably okay. Right?

“Oh, you know...a while,” he says, like an absolute idiot.

He can hear her rolling her eyes and is unsurprised when Vex pinches his side. “A little more precision, darling, if you please.”

He sighs heavily. Well...honesty’s gotten him this far tonight, he might as well go for broke. “I suppose it would be fair to say...since the end of the first day of Freshman Orientation?” he admits, with a decidedly meek air.

Vex goes completely still against him--then slowly props herself up on an elbow so she can stare down at him, incredulous. “Are you joking??”

He squints at her. “...no?”

“But you hardly even knew me!”

“I’m not saying I was picking out a ring in my head,” Percy protests; then, upon seeing her jerk in surprise and realizing the dangerous turn the conversation is taking, he continues, “I’m just saying that I was...quite taken with you is all. You make quite an impression. And then I got to know you and well...”

Vex doesn’t respond, just looks off into the middle distance like she’s re-evaluating her entire worldview. Then she screws up her face, groaning an emphatic “ _Goddammit_!” and buries her face in his chest.

He pets her hair hesitantly. “Vex…? Are you all right?”

“I’m _fine_ ,” she grouses, muffled. She turns her head to lay her cheek on him and rubs at her forehead, heaving a sigh. “It’s just...I’m realizing a whole lot of people were right and I was wrong and I _hate_ being wrong.”

“Who?” Percy asks, baffled by this conversation. “Wrong about what?”

“About--” She cuts herself off and chews her lip, clearly debating what she wants to say. She sighs again. “Let’s just say everyone else saw this coming but me and they’re all going to tell me, ‘I told you, so.’ _Especially_ my brother. Ugh, he’s going to be _so_ bloody smug,” she grumbles.

Percy blinks. “Ah.” He hadn’t realized he was quite that transparent. He knew Keyleth knew, and Vax definitely, but other than that, he thought he’d done a fairly good job playing his cards close to his vest. Clearly not. He’s not entirely sure how he feels about that.

They lay together in mutually mortified silence for a bit, before Vex makes a small choked sound and says, “ _God_ , Percy, all these years and I was so _blind_.” She untangles herself from him and buries her face in her hands. “I can’t even imagine what you must think of me.”

He frowns, turning onto his side and catching her wrists, gently pulling her hands away so that he can see her face. “I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.”

‘You know,” she says, in a small voice, avoiding his eyes. “You having all these...feelings for so long and me stomping all over them like the most _obtuse_ idiot on the planet for our entire college career. It couldn’t have been fun.”

“Well...no,” he admits. “But I assure you your guilt is entirely misplaced. You will recall, of course, that I never told you. In fact, I went out of my way to make sure you didn’t know. You can’t blame yourself for that.”

“I’m sure you didn’t tell the rest of our friends how you felt either and they all knew,” she argues.

“I’m almost certain Grog doesn’t,” he says, trying to make her feel better.

The look she gives him tells him exactly what she thinks of _that_. He shrugs--a wordless _touche_. 

“What I mean to say--” he continues, drawing her, unresisting, into his arms again, “is that if you think I resent you for not knowing about the feelings I very carefully did not tell you about--I don’t. I never have. Not for one second.”

Her eyes trace over his face, assessing--she’s trying to see if he’s lying, he imagines. She furrows her brow, the corner of her mouth quirking unhappily. “Why didn’t you ever say anything?” she asks.

He clears his throat uncomfortably. “Well, first, I had two very compelling reasons, and their names were Jarett and then later, Zahra.”

Vex’s lips thin and she gives him an unimpressed look. “It’s not like I was in a relationship the entire time we’ve known each other. Why did you never say anything when I _was_ single?”

“Because…” he stutters. He licks suddenly dry lips before continuing, “because I didn’t think you’d be interested.”

“ _Not interested_?” she repeats, flabbergasted. “Why on earth would you ever think I wouldn’t be interested?”

“...because you don’t date white men?” he says, hesitant.

Silence hangs. Vex opens her mouth, then closes it. She opens it again, and again, nothing comes out.

“Do you remember--” he asks, when no words seem to be forthcoming from her, “--that time freshman year, when you told me about your parents? And then that time you told me about Saundor?”

Her eyes widen in realization.

“And in the entire time I’ve known you, I’ve never seen you look twice at anyone who was white and so I just thought…” he trails off, biting his lip, then shrugs helplessly.

She’s looking at him like...he’s not sure. Like she’s never seen him before, perhaps.

“...I hadn’t realized you’d taken what I said so seriously,” she finally says, voice hoarse.

“I take everything you say seriously, Vex,” he says honestly. 

She bites her lip, eyes bright, and the look on her face is so vulnerable, so raw, it sets off every one of Percy’s protective instincts, and he feels the overwhelming urge to draw her in close and never let her go.

“We wasted so much time, Percy,” she whispers thickly.

His heart clenches. “Oh Vex, no,” he says, cupping her face, trying to comfort her.

“No, we did,” she insists. He can see the tears welling up and he can’t help the pained noise he makes; Vex cries so rarely and he’s never been able to handle it gracefully when she does. “I could have said something earlier. I _wanted_ to say something earlier, but I was scared and I just...couldn’t get over myself.” She dashes furiously at her eyes with a hand.

“I’ve spent so much time trying to avoid my mother’s mistakes and so much time trying to spite my father, because, irony of ironies, he actually _approves of you_ and I couldn’t _possibly_ do something my father would approve of, and all I’ve managed to accomplish is to make us both miserable and it’s all just so--so _stupid_.”

Percy takes a long moment to gather his thoughts, gently running a soothing hand up and down her back as she sniffles; he wants to be careful, wants to say the right thing.

“I think,” he says slowly, quietly, brushing her hair back behind her ear, “that it took us exactly as long as we needed. I _do_ ,” he insists at her skeptical look. “God knows I wasn’t ready for you when we first met. I was a sheltered, privileged rich kid who thought I knew everything, when really, I didn’t know anything. You--all of you, everyone I’ve met here--made me better. You’ve all taught me so much and I’m still learning. If I’m honest, I needed this time to grow up, to figure myself out. How can I be mad at you for needing this time to do the same thing?”

He cups her jaw, thumb rubbing gently against her cheek. “We’ve got time, Vex--however long it takes--to see where this goes.” He leans in to press his forehead to hers. “If that’s what you want, that is,” he says, heart in his throat.

She gives a watery laugh and leans in to kiss him. “I do, of course I do,” she murmurs against his lips.

Percy loses track of time as they trade long, sweet, lingering kisses, clutching each other close. It isn’t until he feels her starting to flag, her lips barely moving against his, that he pulls away. She makes a vaguely discontented noise when he does, but she can barely open her eyes and he knows that it’s far past time for them both to take what rest they can.

“Sleep, darling,” he whispers, kissing her forehead. “We’ll sort the rest out in the morning.”

She hums, snuggling into him, already drifting. His eyes are going to hate him in the morning, but he can’t bring himself to leave the warm nest of his bed and it’s not long before he too follows her into sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was SUPPOSED to be a 2-3k PWP. Ah hahaha...ha. So you know, if you were wondering where the next chapter of “Demons…” is, this is what happened instead. But THINGS I HAVE LEARNED FROM WRITING THIS: 1) I am _totally_ capable of writing longfic and staying with a story (I wrote this over nearly 2 months) and 2) I am...not good at multitasking and juggling more than 1 story at a time.
> 
> Thanks to luxheroica/Araine for cheerleading and for title-ing this story, and ViciousRhythm for the speedy and awesome beta!
> 
> Feel free to go on to the next chapter for extended author's notes! If you have questions about the universe or want to request a timestamp, feel free to get at me over at tumblr.


	2. Author's Notes

Every author puts a little bit of themself into a story. This is probably the most autobiographical thing I’ve written to date. The idea of Senior Week, the names for some of the campus buildings, some of the in-jokes, the idea that Emon University is a private university located in New England/the Boston area is based on my own college experience. I can only write what I know. *shrug emoji*

Similarly, this version of VM is based heavily on actual people I know. If it’s not clear from the text, this is how I imagined their ethnicities:

-The twins are half-Vietnamese. The twins are always some flavor of Asian when I headcanon modern AUs, but in this universe I wanted to rep my southeast Asian peeps. And hell yes, they are dark-skinned. Their legal names are Vessar, but both twins go by their mother’s name, Vuong. 

-Keyleth is indigenous on her mother’s side, but her father’s Scottish genes came through really strong, so she’s redheaded and white-passing. She’s based on someone I know, who is in fact a white-passing indigenous woman. 

-I went full Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson for Grog. He’s half-Samoan, half-African-American. He and Pike are from Hawaii.

-Pike is multi-racial. She’s part native Hawaiian from Wilhand’s side of the family and part Japanese as well. Her father’s side of the family is white.

-Scanlan is...a hodgepodge. His father is one of those white dudes who’s like Italian/Irish/Polish/German/Russian/& 1/32nd Cherokee. His mother is Filipino. Filipino heritage can be an interesting mix of Malay Chinese, Spanish, and native Filipino because colonialism/imperialism. It was only after the fact that I realized I’d made Scanlan my friend, Alex. 

-Percy is of course the palest white boy to ever be a pale white boy, because _come on_

-Tiberius is Black and this was a very deliberate choice. I think...given what we know about tailed vs non-tailed Dragonborn and slavery in Draconia, it would not be an _incorrect_ narrative choice to make Tiberius come from a wealthy, powerful Southern family that used to own a plantation in a modern American AU. But the idea of that makes my skin crawl. And so Tiberius comes from a proud family of African-American civil rights activists, statesmen/politicians, lawyers, etc. Morehouse College, where he transferred, is an all-male historical black college, whose alumni include Martin Luther King Jr. 

Some other fun facts:  
-The TAKE OFF YOUR SHOES, YOU HEATHENS sign is a real thing that existed in a friend’s apartment. And fyi: you _absolutely_ take off your shoes in an Asian household. It’s polite.

-[Filipino time](https://medium.com/@btantheman/why-filipinos-follow-filipino-time-d38e2c162927#.o1ltjuqyp) is a real thing. That link will lead you to a piece written by an actual Filipino. I’ve had lots of Pinoy friends and I can tell you that it is not a universal thing. I’ve had friends who were scrupulously on time always, friends who typically ran 15-20 minutes late, and one friend who consistently CONSISTENTLY showed up 30 minutes to an hour late. Like Pike with Scanlan, we learned to give her an earlier meeting time if we ever wanted her to get somewhere in the ballpark of “on time”.

-Yellow Fever is so real, y’all. [Here’s an excellent piece on it.](http://www.xojane.com/sex/only-you-can-prevent-yellow-fever) As someone who has unwittingly dated an Asian fetishist or two, 0/10, would not recommend. Vex’s screed against those dudes is a liiiiiittle autobiographical.

-Grog is totally making out with modern AU!Nala, the water nymph. 

-The idea of Percy having an apartment in the city is 100000% based on a classmate I had. He was a super rich international student, just like Percy.

-They were originally taking Ubers when I was writing this story, but then the strike thing happened and so now they’re taking Lyfts, because Uber DOESN’T GET MY FICTIONAL BUSINESS EITHER. 

I have a million more headcanons and Easter eggs. If you’re curious at all or want a timestamp, feel free to get at me over at [tumblr](http://blackestglass.tumblr.com).


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